7. State Representative Ginny Shaver (R-Centre) has sponsored a bill that would make any post birth abortions illegal
— Rep. Shaver explained her bill against infanticide, saying, “This bill does not have anything to do with the legalities of a woman’s so-called right to choose to have an abortion. … My bill addresses another issue, and that is infants who survive an abortion or an attempted abortion. The law doesn’t really protect them specifically, so this law is designed to do just that.” This action from Shaver comes after the legality of infanticide has come to light recently through abortion debates. The bill would also require doctors to administer care to a baby born alive despite an abortion attempt. The Democrats’ extremist views on abortion continue to be on display in Alabama and nationally; Republicans will continue to highlight that.
6. There has been a federal class-action lawsuit filed in Alabama against the civil asset forfeiture laws
— Lena Sutton has been highlighted in the case from when she was arrested and her car was confiscated in a drug trafficking arrest on February 20, 2018. Sutton wasn’t in the car and claims she didn’t know it would be used for any drug activity. While Sutton wasn’t arrested, her car still hasn’t been returned. The intent of the lawsuit is to prove that Alabama’s civil asset forfeiture law is unconstitutional. The Alabama laws are believed to be unconstitutional because they fail to provide notice and opportunity for a hearing, and it fails to allow someone to challenge the seizure.
5. President Donald Trump has responded to a new round of social media censorship with support for those banned
— The mainstream media will tell you Facebook has decided to ban extremist, white supremacists, right-wing agitators, further showing the misusage of those terms renders them meaningless. Trump’s tweets about how he is going to “monitor the censorship of AMERICAN CITIZENS on social media platforms,” drew rebukes from the same members of the media that hold the belief that criticizing them is an attack on the First Amendment. Facebook says that it is banning “dangerous individuals,” but the arbitrary nature of this renews the conversation about the immunity social media companies enjoy and whether they are publishers or platforms.
4. “Carpetbagging” claims enter the 2020 U.S. Senate race
— Congressman Bradley Byrne (R-Mobile) responded to news that candidate for Senate, and former Auburn Coach, Tommy Tuberville returned to Alabama to use his name ID to win public office. Tuberville lived and voted in Florida in 2018. Byrne said he thinks it is a problem, explaining, “We don’t like carpetbaggers in Alabama.” On Friday, State Senator Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) speculated Florida’s lack of income tax could have been a reason for Tuberville taking up residence in Florida and believes that voters will take that into account, saying he “probably wanted to avoid Alabama state income tax but now he wants to represent the state, pssht forget about it.”
3. Madison County’s sheriff deputy Jeff Graves has resigned after making insensitive comments on social media after an LGBTQ suicide
— Graves was previously suspended for the comments he made after Nigel Shelby’s suicide that included an LGBTQ meme that said he approved of a movement that includes “Liberty Guns Bible Trump BBQ.” His comments were immediately called out for being insensitive and homophobic. He resigned after a hearing about his actions and claims of policy violations. Sheriff Kevin Turner said that an internal investigation “uncovered multiple violations of both county and sheriff’s office policies.” However, Turner didn’t specify what the policies were. After the decision, Turner released a statement that partly read, “The Madison County Sheriff’s Office mission is to serve ALL citizens of Madison County, regardless of their gender, race, religion or sexual orientation. We must be able to serve and protect everyone without hesitation, and if we don’t have the community’s trust we can’t succeed in our mission.”
2. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh has explained why the lottery money needs to go to the general fund instead of towards education
— Recently, the lottery bill has been criticized because it doesn’t designate the funds to education, and many people feel strongly that that’s where the money should go if Alabama gets the lottery. Marsh has said, though, that the money needs to go to the general fund to protect the education budget. On Alabama Public Television’s Capitol Journal, Marsh said, “It’s important that listeners understand that there’s a reason for it to go there. The general fund s the fund with the least amount of money. …If the general fund is not sound and stable, there’s pressure to move programs…out of the general fund and on the backs of education.” Mash continued on to reiterate that as long as the general fund is not lacking, then the education budget is protected.
1. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s hearing date has been set as the president says he shouldn’t testify
— President Trump tweeted that attempts to get Mueller to testify are essentially part of Democrats’ plan to get a “redo” on Russian collusion because they don’t like how the investigation turned out. Trump publicly questioned the motives of the hearing, asking, “Are they looking for a redo because they hated seeing the strong NO COLLUSION conclusion?” Regardless, Mueller is set to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on May 15 to be interviewed about his Russia investigation, Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the report and his letter to Barr. However, Mueller could easily no show the hearing, just like Barr did, and the AG has the power to block Mueller from appearing. House Judiciary Committee Representative Jerry Nadler (D-NY) is hopeful that Mueller will testify and he’s also given Barr a Monday deadline to provide an unredacted version of the Mueller report.
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